Trunk settee



N.FORT| TRUNK SETTEE July 6, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 25, 1949 July 6, 1954 N FQRT| 'A 2,682,915

TRUNK SETTEE Filed March 25, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 rllllllllllllllll ||l||| wf r/ l t I Patented July 6, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE' 3 Claims.

This invention pertains to furniture. More specifically it refers to the sofa or davenport type of stuffed furniture that is used in living rooms and similar places. 4Specifically it is a trunk settee. y

Modern circumstances impose hardships on transients, such as tourists, itinerant labor, salesmen, demonstrators, actors, performers and the like, who are required by circumstances to remain in a place for an indefinite period of time. Ordinarily, such transients carry considerable luggage if their stay is Lof a prolonged nature. For this reason, inany prefer the so-called steamer trunks that can carry a considerable quantity of articles and clothing. However, in spite of their compact construction, they nevertheless are quite bulky and do take up considerable space in the hotel room, rooming house room, trailer or wherever the transient shall stay.

In addition, modern housing calls for small apartments generally of one or two rooms. Though generally closet space is provided, this is entirely inadequate and tenants must resort to various other means to store their clothing and various articles that are of occasional use. Under those circumstances, many apartment dwellers have found it very convenient to have a steamer trunk for storage purposes right in the apartment. But here again the apartment dweller finds that he has no available space for the trunk for the furnishings take up the available space.

Though a steamer trunk is quite useful as a storage receptacle or container, it certainly is not an article of beauty and its presence in a room not only detracts from appearance of the room but may also give rise to many conjectures and questionings by visitors.

It therefore is an object of my invention to provide an article of furniture that not only serves vits. originally intended function but also pro-- vides a case for the trunk.

A further object of my invention is to provide an article of furniture that is to all 'outward appearances a regulation sofa or davenport and still houses a trunk within itself.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an article of furniture that outwardly is a sofa, but which can be readily opened to permit ingress to the contents of the trunk housed therein.

A further and additional object of my inven- K tion is to provide an article of manufacture that not only conserves space since it has a dual function but also appears attractive and can be readily and economically produced in competition with standard furniture.

These and other objects, adaptations, variations, modifications and extensions can be readily deduced by those skilled in this art particularly after the clear, lucid and complete description given hereinbelow of the underlying concepts and fundamentals involved as applied to a preferred embodiment, are perused. Though the description below describes clearly a preferred embodiment which is further illustrated in the attached drawings forming a part of this specification, nevertheless it is clearly obvious that a person skilled in this art can vary widely the various phases of the preferred and illustrated embodiment and still be within the purview and scope of the spirit underlying the fundamental concepts of my invention.

Therefore it is not my intention to be limited precisely to the exact illustrations or preferred embodiments described hereinbelow but only to use these in a purely illustrative and exemplary manner to set forth more clearly the fundamental concepts of and their application t0 my invention.

Therefore Figure 1 shows a perspective of my improved trunk settee.

Figure 2 is a perspective showing the cushion removed and trunk exposed.

Figure 3 is a perspective of the removed cushion.

Figure 4 is a perspective showing the lid of exposed trunk opened.

Figure 5 is an exploded View showing the relationship of the various elements.

Figure 6 is a section taken along lines E-'B of Figure 1. while Figure 7 is a section taken along lines 'I--l of Figure 6.

In the illustrations, the reference characters used therein to identify the various elements of the preferred embodiment are also used hereinbelow in referring to the said drawings and are identical in denitiveness.

My improved trunk settee comprises a recr tangular frame of suitable dimensions to enclose a trunk. It comprises a back I0, a front I2 and sides I4 and I6 respectively. In the back I0 and front I2 there are hook-like hangers '20 of the type used in wooden beds to suspend the back I0 and front I2 from the sides I4 and I 6. These hook-like'hangers 20 fit into slots I8 placed in juxtaposition with the said hangers along the edges of the sides I 4 and I6. They not only fasten the sides I4 and I6 together with the front I2 and back Ill but also impart rigidity and strength to the assembled structure.

The back l is substantially a rectangular piece of metal, wood or any other desired material such as plastic, of sufficient height not only to provide a suitable back rest for the occupants of the trunk settee but also provides an excellent stop for the lid 32 of the trunk 30. The upper part of the back I0 is padded with suitable upholstery material 22 such as springs, moss, etc. or if desired thick sponge rubber can also be used.

The front I2 is relatively shorter in height than the back I0, though it is of the same width.

It like the back I0 can be made of wood, metal, plastic, etc. It consists of two parts, a lower xed section 24 which is fastened to the sides I4 and I6 by means of hook-like hangers 2,0 and a hinged portion 20 attached to the upper edge of the lower section by means such as the piano type hinge 28. In the upper portion of each of the ends thereof are placed friction catches 29 such as the bayonet type used frequently in cabinets, that ride in juxtaposition with slide buttons 3l fastened to the sides lli and Iii. When the settee is occupied the upper hinged section 25 is in the closed position and is retained in place by the friction catches 29 abutting against the sides I4 and I6.

The height of the hinged portion 2% of the front section 24 is so designed as to provide adequate clearance to the lock and trunk lid Sii of the trunk 30. When the hinged portion 26 is drawn outwardly as shown in Figures 5?. and e the trunk lid 32 is readily available and can be opened without any difficulty. Likewise, the edge of the open trunk is approximately at the same level or height as the piano hinge 28. Thus it is apparent that there is no interference whatsoever as to the use of the trunk by the owner.

The sides I4 and I9 comprise a panel portion 34, held in a frame 35. The top part of the frame as shown in the preferred embodiment also serves as an elbow rest 38, while the outside parts oi the frame 35 terminate into legs @El which support not only the sides I4 and le but also the back IIl and front I2 of the settee. Quite obviously the design and appearance of the aforementioned sides as well as front and back portions of my improved settee can be varied considerably and still come within the spirit of the fundamental concepts underlying my invention.

The inwardly disposed faces 42 of the sides I4 and I5 have formed therein rabbet grooves 44. The rabbet grooves 40, have suflicient height and depth so that the ends it of the settee cover '.50 having thereon the padding I8 can fit into and rest on the corner ledge or shoulder 52 of the floor oi the rabbet lhole. Thus if the cover 50 is inserted between the rabbets mi it cannot slide out forwardly since it is retained not only by the rabbets 5e in which the ends 46 protrude but also by the upper part of the hinged front portion 26. The cover 5i) preferably rests on the top of the trunk 30,rbut it obviously can also be so arranged that it can rest on its ends 4E only.

To remove the cover 56, one end i5 thereof must be pushed into the rabbet groove M so far as it can, and then the other end lifted through an upward arc with the end inserted into the rabbet groove acting as the center. When one end is free and clear of the rabbet opening, the cover with its padding 48 can be then removed from the trunk settee to expose the trunk thereunder.

Instead of rabbet grooves 44 I can place supporting continuous strips or even short cleats which extend the full width and length of the inner faces of the walls or only selected Vportions of the trunk and extend downwardly within the rectangular frame a distance sufhciently far to clear the edge of the open trunk. The trunk then rests in a sort of a well formed by the strips and/or cleats fastened to the sides I4 and I6 or even tothe front I2 and back I0 which now support wholly the cover 50. Though this construction can be utilized and is considered to be within the spirit of my invention it is preferable to use the rabbet grooves 44 since a better balance in design is obtained.

In view of the clear and lucid description of the preferred embodiment of my invention described above and illustrated in the attached drawing, it is quite obvious that the same can be varied considerably and still be within the purview and spirit of the fundamental concepts underlying myy invention as defined in the hereunto appended claims.

I claim:

1. A settee for concealing a trunk or other objects comprising a back rest, two end sides, a front member; the said back rest, said end sides and said front member detachably secured together to form an enclosure for concealment of a trunk, a cover seat for said enclosure, and rabbeted grooves formed wit-hin the said end sides in a face-to-face relationship to retain therebetween the said cover seat over` the said enclosure.

2. A trunk settee of the type defined in claim 1, wherein the said front wall member consists of a lower section and an upper hinged section, the said lower section fastened detachably to the side wall members of said frame, a hinge on the lower edge of said upper section whereby the said upper section is hingedly attached to the top edge of the lower section and a means on the ends of said upper section to frictionably engage the said side wall members, whereby the top section can be retained in an upright position.

3. A trunk settee of the type defined in claim l, wherein the said. cover is slightly shorter than the overall distance between the inner walls of the said rabbeted grooves.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED .STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 550,613 Harvey Dec. 3, 1895 1,023,702 Fritz June 4, 1912 1,552,720 Marcus Sept. 8, 1925 2,418,731 Seitz Apr. 8, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 90,989 Germany Apr. 14, 1896 

